The Proposal: ArielxJim
by HunterChryss
Summary: A spoof of my favorite romantic comedy, The Proposal. Jim Hawkins works as Ariel's personal assistant at a well-established marketing company in New York. When Ariel is threatened to be deported back to Atlantica, she cooks up a scheme that will send the both of them into a giant mess of humor, drama and...romance? Read and find out! I own nothing! (Rating may go up later)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Wicked Witch of the Office

The alarm clock beeped relentlessly next to Jim's bed. Five a.m., the sun was just beginning to rise, shafts of orange and pink seeping in through the blinds of the bedroom windows. New day, same old crap… He slammed his hand down on the i-Home, silencing the nagging reminder of the day-long headache to come. Sitting up and stretching with a loud yawn, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up dragging himself to the bathroom of his one-bedroom apartment to shower. He turned the water on as hot as possible, the room filling with steam and the mirror being cloaked in a sheet of condensation. Slowly he stepped in and winced as the scorching water hit his lightly tanned skin. For a moment he just stood there, his head tilted back welcoming the relaxing stream that pounded against his chest and ran down his toned body. Then he grabbed the bar of soap off of the soap-tray on the wall and rubbed himself down, working a moderate lather as if trying to wash away the grogginess he still felt. Standing under the water again he rinsed the suds away and then gave the same attention to his hair. He tilted his head down, allowing the water to soak his long chestnut bangs and his braided rattail. Once he washed his hair, he turned the water off and grabbed his towel hanging up just outside the shower door and quickly dried himself off..

Feeling successfully refreshed and more awake, he wrapped the towel around his well formed waist and headed over to the sink to brush his teeth. With his left hand, he wiped away some of the steam from the mirror while he picked up his toothbrush with his right. After brushing his teeth and gargling some mouthwash, he applied some deodorant and headed back to his room to get dressed.

He let the towel fall from his waist as he went to grab a pair of boxers from his dresser. Then he walked over to his closet and pulled out his dark grey suit, a black dress shirt and red tie. He put on his boxers and a pair of white socks and stepped into the pants of his suit. Once his pants were on he put on a white under-shirt then his black dress shirt. He buttoned it up and tucked it into his pants, zipping them up and fastening his belt. Walking back into the bathroom, he begrudgingly stood in front of the now defogged mirror to put on his tie. He hated ties, but he had no choice in the matter and _she _would have a conniption if he showed up without one on. Just the thought made him roll his eyes in annoyance. Taking one last look at his reflection, he sighed and went to grab his suit jacket off of his bed.

Making sure he had everything; i-phone, wallet, briefcase, tablet, Bluetooth and paperwork, he headed out the door locking it behind him. He headed down the stairs and out into the lobby of his apartment building. The manager's daughter was at the front desk, filing paperwork. She gave him a kind smile and nodded at him as he walked by.

"Morning, Jim."

"Morning, Tiana," He replied with a smirk and a half-wave. "Where's your mom?"

"Her arthritis is really bad this morning, so I'm covering for her till she feels better. I keep telling her she won't be able to keep this up much longer but the woman won't listen to me."

Jim chuckled. "Well, hope she feels better, tell her I said 'hi'." He continued towards the front doors, waving over his shoulder.

"Will do, good luck with work!" She waved back and returned to her filing. Even she knew what that 'terrorist of a boss' was like. Only because he ranted about the issue to her and confided in her when she was around.

Once outside, Jim was greeted by the sounds of an already busy city. Car horns, people walking by and talking on cell phones, car stereos and sirens from emergency vehicles. This was his natural 'habitat', New York City. Although it took some getting used to at first, he quickly adjusted to the busy lifestyle this city accommodated. He raised his hand in the air, trying in vain to flag down a taxi. It took a few tries but eventually one stopped for him and he hopped in, slamming the door shut. The cabbie, a rather stout-looking toad, glanced into his rear-view mirror at the young man in his backseat.

"Where to, my good fellow?" He asked, a little too peppy for this hour, Jim thought.

"First stop, the Starbucks on Fifth Street," Jim replied, leaning back and setting his briefcase in his lap. He noticed the cabbie's name plate on the dashboard: James T. Toad.

Suddenly, Jim felt himself being jerked backward into the backseat as the cab sped forward at almost breakneck speed, its tires squealing in protest against the pavement. The toad laughed maniacally as he swerved in and out of traffic, barely missing cars and frighteningly enough, pedestrians. Jim could hear other cabs honking furiously at the psychotic amphibian, a couple even went as far as flipping him the bird. But the toad didn't seem to be hindered in the least. In fact, it seemed to only fuel his mania even more. Jim felt his heart racing as he dug his nails into the cushion of the seat. Every time the cab made a sharp turn or swerved too fast, it sent Jim sliding from one end of the seat to the other.

"Holy shit! You think you can take it easy up there, buddy?" his voice cracked on the last word.

"Fear not, my dear fellow," the toad replied, not even looking back at his passenger. "We're just merrily on our way to a new destination! It's a new day!"

"Which I may not live to see the end of.." Jim mumbled to himself.

Soon they reached Fifth Street and Starbucks. Jim, still pale and gripping the back of the front passenger seat, sat there for a moment with a look of panic still plastered onto his face. Once he realized the car was no longer moving, he opened the door and stepped out.

"I'll be right back," he said in a shaky voice, though he tried to hide it. The toad only winked in response and sat back waiting patiently.

As he walked towards the coffee shop, his phone started to vibrate. At this hour it could only be one person… He reached into his pocket and glanced down at the screen with a look of disgust and rolled his eyes. Yep, it was her alright, the bane of his existence.. He clicked on the Bluetooth in his ear.

"Hello?" He did his best to cover up the irritation in his voice.

"Jim, where are you? You get my latté?" Came the voice from the other line. "It's almost six-thirty, you better not be late I have a meeting at six-fifty!"

"No, Ariel, I'm not going to be late.." He reassured her. "I'm at Starbucks right now." There was a brief pause. He knew she was rolling her eyes at him.

"Okay, hurry up, I'm almost there."

"Don't worry. As for your latte, the usual?" He groaned inwardly.

"Of course, a venti white chocolate low-fat latté with caramel and sea salt," she snapped back.

"I'm on it, see you soon." He hung up without even waiting for her to reply. God, why did he have to be stuck being _her _assistant? Why?

He strode into the shop and approached the counter where two freshly made lattés were already waiting for him. Grabbing them off of the counter, he nodded to the barista with a small smile.

"Thanks, Charlotte."

The blonde barista smiled back at him with a blush. "Anytime, honey." Jim had to admit, her southern accent was kind of cute, but she was just more of a good friend than anything. In fact she was Tiana's best friend. She'd sometimes hang out with Tiana in the lobby at the apartment building when she was helping her mom.

Jim headed back out the 'death cab' and slid back into the seat closing the door behind him. He looked forward at the cabbie apprehensively.

"Okay, now I need to get to Fifteenth Avenue and fast," he glanced down at his watch which read 6:40. As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately regretted it.

"Right away, good sir!" The toad shouted excitedly and slammed his webbed foot back down on the gas.

Luckily, neither of the hot drinks spilled as they violently moved forward. Jim did his best to keep his hands as steady as possible. _Should've asked for a drink carrier,_ he thought to himself regrettably. Within a matter of minutes, they arrived at Fifteenth Avenue. Jim looked out the window and up at the grand building, its many windows reflecting the morning sun with splashes of gold and pink. Jim reached into his pocket and produced the fare for the cabbie. He made sure to not give him any extra as a tip. That guy needed to have his license revoked for life!

Jim stepped out of the cab and straightened out his suit jacket. He had his back turned to the building as he sighed, already hearing the bitching that was soon to follow his arrival through the front doors. He turned to head inside and was mistakenly bumped into by a passerby, causing Ariel's latté to spill all over the front of his suit jacket. Jim froze, suddenly taken aback by what just happened. _Are you serious?_

"Oh sorry, man," said a young man with blonde hair. He continued on, not even looking back.

Jim growled to himself, irritated that after all that, he ended up being screwed anyway. So much for that… He glanced down at the light brown coffee stain that ran from his collar down to the left pocket. Wonderful…

With no time to clean himself up, he headed inside discarding the now empty cup in the trash, a scowl fixed on his face. No sooner had he entered the building did he come face to face with a very pissed off boss…

A young woman, roughly the same age as him, stood there in a black dress suit and black stilettos. Her fiery-red hair was pulled into a high ponytail and trailed down her back stopping just above her rear. She wore a gold necklace with a pendant shaped like a starfish. Her eyes, as blue as the sea, were fixed on him with irritation though her face remained solemn. One hand on her hip and the other holding her crimson handbag, she waited for him to approach her before she started.

"Jim, what time is it?" Her voice remained somewhat calm, though the question was meant to express how pissed she was.

He glanced down at his watch, then back up at her. "Six-forty-nine," he replied, trying not to use a smart-ass tone.

"And what time did I say that the meeting is?" She continued, not even blinking.

"Six-fifty," he answered. "Look, we can still make it. It's just upstairs in your office, right?"

Ariel rolled her eyes, but said nothing else as she shook her head. She was about to head over to the elevators and motioned for him to follow, when he handed her the latté.

"Here."

"Thanks," she took it from him as they walked.

Inside the elevator, Jim pressed the button to take them to the tenth floor. He glanced over at Ariel, who seemed to be extremely anxious. Her eyes never left the lights above the elevator doors, watching each one light up with every passing floor as they ascended. Once the elevator dinged ten, the doors opened to a large room full of cubicles. The employees were mostly goofing off, girls giggling with each other and the guys talking about last night's ball game. All froze and returned promptly to their cubicles when they saw the doors open. Ariel flew out with surprisingly graceful prowess, being that she was wearing two-inch heels and all. He quickly caught up to her.

"Go get the paperwork off of my desk and run it over to Aladdin, he needs to complete it and send it in by the time the meeting's over," she looked over at him, then took a sip of the latté. "Ugh, what is _this_?" She crinkled her nose and stopped in her tracks, looking at her cup inquisitively.

"That would be _my _latte," He said, trying not to roll his eyes. "Yours unfortunately didn't survive the trip here."

"Hm, kinda good actually," she shrugged and took another sip. "What is that, pumpkin spice?"

"Yeah, and white chocolate."

She nodded. "I'll be there in a minute, I'm gonna run to the ladies' room then I'll be right there."

Jim nodded and watched as she walked off. He glanced around the room at his co-workers who were also watching her. Once she was out of sight everyone went back to goofing off. Jim just smiled and shook his head with a chuckle. He headed to Ariel's office and found the small packet of papers on her desk. Gathering them up, he walked out and over to Aladdin's cubicle. Of course, he wasn't surprised when he found him there flirting with Jasmine, the girl who worked only two cubicles away. His friends Flynn and Peter were there as well, laughing and joking around.

"Hey Al," Jim smirked as he approached the group.

"Morning, Jim," Aladdin smiled back.

"Sorry bud, but you've got some grunt work to do. Gotta be done before the meeting's over." Jim set the small stack of papers down on Aladdin's desk. Aladdin looked at them then back up at Jim. He crossed his arms and laughed.

"Sure thing," he sighed and stood up from his chair.

"So Jim, you looking forward to your vacation next week?" Flynn leaned against the side of the cubicle with his arms crossed.

"Definitely," Jim replied with a sigh of relief. "Gonna go back to the homeland, visit my folks and catch up with everyone."

"Sounds great," Peter interjected, "and lucky for you, you'll be on the other side of the continent - far from this hell-hole and away from that b-"

Jim looked over his shoulder and saw Ariel returning from the restroom. She scanned the room until her eyes fell on Jim.

"Come on, let's get this over with," she motioned for him to follow her. "These bastards are gonna waste my time so at this point I don't care if they had to wait an extra five minutes." She mumbled as they approached her office where three suited men were standing around, impatiently waiting.

Jim rolled his eyes as they entered the room and mumbled to himself closing the double doors, "And so it begins…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Deportation.. Maybe Not?

Once the meeting came to a close, though it could have gone better. Needless to say, the tension finally lifted when the men made their exit and left. Ariel let out an exasperated sigh as she sat down behind her desk.

"Idiots.." She mumbled, rubbing her temples.

Jim took his seat at his smaller desk in the corner of the room. Clicking the mouse on his computer, he opened up the web browser and started reading his emails. He could hear Ariel's small fingers typing away at her keyboard. For a good five minutes or so, neither of them spoke and it was pleasantly quiet until the phone on Ariel's desk began to ring. She picked up the receiver without looking away from her desktop monitor.

"Ariel Triton," she answered. "Yes? Yes, I made sure he was given the paperwork as soon as I arrived. What? Oh my God…" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Okay, yes, I'll let him know." Hanging up the phone, she looked over at Jim, who up until this point was only half-listening to the conversation.

"Can you send Aladdin in, please?" She looked over her shoulder at him.

Jim knew that look, it meant something was gonna happen - but nothing good. He nodded and stood up from his chair. He left the room, then returned moments later with Aladdin right behind him.

"You wanted to see me?" Aladdin asked, a look of confusion flashing across his face.

"Yes. Please, sit," she gestured to the chair in front of her desk.

Aladdin sat himself down, his arms crossed.

"Give us minute," she glanced up at Jim, motioning him out the door with her hand.

"Sure," Jim turned and left the room, closing the doors behind him.

He stood outside, his hands in his pockets glancing around the room. Everyone seemed anxious to know what was going on. But no one seemed more on edge than Jasmine, whose eyes stayed fixed on the doors to Ariel's office. Jim let out a bored sigh. Just then, from behind the closed doors came the sound of raised voices. It sounded like a heated argument. The whole floor had gone completely quiet, everyone listening intently to what was happening. Suddenly the doors to the office opened and Ariel stepped out calmly. She approached Jim as Aladdin stomped out of the room, his face red in anger.

"You arrogant bitch!" He snapped, pointing at her accusingly. "You can't fire me, I need this job, I have too much to lose! You're just firing me because you need one less stud working on this floor and distracting the ladies from their work."

Ariel turned on one heel and calmly looked at him. "No, Aladdin, I'm firing you because I'm sick of your procrastinating and your inability to do as your told."

Aladdin's mouth clamped shut, unable to argue any further. Without looking at anyone, he made his way to the elevator and left in a huff.

"Go process his termination paper work and email it to H.R.," Ariel turned back to Jim, whose mouth had been hanging open for the whole confrontation. No one had ever had the balls to stand up to her that way…Ever.

"Sure thing," he headed back into the office.

Just as he was sending the files to H.R., a large muscular man with dark skin walked into the room. He wore a dark black suit with a white shirt and black tie. A small gold hoop, much like Jim's, hung from his left ear. Even though he was indoors, he still wore a pair of jet-black sunglasses. He stood there, waiting with his massive hands folded in front of him. Something about this guy made Jim a little nervous.

"Can I help you?" Jim finally asked, turning in his seat.

"I'm here to speak with Miss Triton," the man's voice rumbled through Jim's chest.

Jim stood and stepped forward, extending his hand, "She stepped out for a moment. I'm her assistant, Jim Hawkins."

"Cobra Bubbles," he replied, giving Jim's hand a firm shake. An awkward silence shortly followed afterward.

"I'll just - I'll go find her for you, be right back," Jim finally spoke, glad to find an excuse to leave the hulk's presence.

He stepped out and looked around the room, seeing no sign of her. Pulling out his phone, he was about to hit redial when he saw her returning from the restrooms again.

"There's some guy who's here to see you," he said, returning the phone to his pocket. Ariel seemed confused, if not a little agitated.

"Who?"

Jim shrugged. "His name's Cobra Bubbles, looks like a lawyer or something."  
"Damn…" she hissed under her breath. She knew all too well who he was. "Alright I'll go talk to him. Go tell Jasmine to pack up Aladdin's things. His desk needs to be cleared out by the end of the day."

"Okay," he nodded, walking off.

Ariel entered her office, shutting her doors behind her. Her eyes fell upon the massive frame of Cobra Bubbles, the agent from the Department of Immigration.

"Miss Triton," he began, nodding at her.

"Mr. Bubbles, how can I help you?" She stood in front of him, dwarfed by his stature.

"Your visa is expired, you were supposed to renew it a month ago but we failed to receive your renewal slips." His voice was stern.

Ariel felt her heart leap into her throat. "Shit! I'm sorry, forgot. Work had me completely tied up so I couldn't get a chance to get to the office. I'll head down right after work and turn the forms in."

"Miss Triton, even if you turned the forms in today, the papers will be invalid," he gave her a cold stare as he explained. "I'm sorry, but due to your paperwork not being turned in and processed on time, you are going to be deported back to Atlantica for a year. Only after that will you be eligible to renew."

"Wh-What? _Deported_?" Ariel raised her eyebrows in shock. This couldn't happen, not to her! No, she worked too hard and too long for this. "I've got a company to run, isn't there some way to bypass that and allow me to stay in the country?"

"I'm afraid not," Cobra shook his head. "Unless you were married, then you'd have a new visa automatically once the marriage is sanctified and recognized by the state."

Ariel's bit her lower lip, her eyes wandered down to the floor. A million thoughts were racing through her mind. Suddenly she heard the door to her office being opened and saw Jim lean in.

"Sorry, I was just gonna let you know that Milo had to leave early, he's got some sort of stomach bug going on.. Kept having to run to the restroom every five minutes."

Then it happened. The light bulb went on… _If you were married, your visa would be renewed automatically… _Cobra's previous statement replayed in her mind. This was perfect, the ticket to her salvation. She gave Jim an awkward look and motioned for him to come next to her. He just stood there in the doorway confused for a moment, his brow furrowed, staring at her. _'Come here,'_ she silently mouthed to him. Unfortunately he wasn't very good at reading lips. He shook his head, not understanding. She grew impatient and tightened her lips, pointing to the floor next to her. Luckily Cobra was looking at a couple of paintings hanging on her wall so he did not see their little game of charades. He cautiously walked toward her, closing the door behind him, unsure of what was about to happen. Cobra's back still turned, Ariel pulled Jim close to her and whispered in his ear.

"We're engaged, going to be married soon. Just go along with it," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"Whoa, what? Why?" he whispered back, his voice raised slightly on the last word.

"I'll explain later. Just .it.." she retorted, more irritated at his questioning. Finally Cobra turned back around, his eyes fixed on Jim who was standing there with a comical look on his face.

"Well, actually, I _am_ engaged," she said confidently, placing her hand on her hip.

Cobra didn't seem too convinced. "Oh really? And may I ask, who the lucky man is?"

Just as he asked the question, she grabbed Jim by the arm, yanking him even closer to her. "To this…stud right here." She patted his shoulder and gave her best 'sweet' smile.

Words could hardly describe the expression that was fixed upon Jim's face. If anything, it looked as if someone had just dropped a rabid weasel down his pants. His eyes were wide as saucers, his brows furrowed. Once it had finally sank in what she said, he looked at her then at Cobra, who seemed surprised but not completely convinced.

"You two are engaged? Isn't he your _business associate_?" Cobra questioned, his tone expressing his lack of belief.

"Yes he is, and yes were are," Ariel replied, more confidence in her voice.

As she said that, Jim was slowly shaking his head, but stopped when she started squeezing his arm tighter digging her nails into the muscle. He didn't know what he just walked into, however he knew he didn't want any part of it. That was for sure!

"How long has this relationship been going on, may I ask?"

"Oh wow, it's been a while now, about six months, right _sweetie_?" Ariel looked at him lovingly, though Jim knew it was all an act.

Knowing that if he didn't play along, he'd be sorry for it later. Reluctantly, he forced a fake smile and replied, "Yeah, six months _exactly_." He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

Cobra raised a brow at the odd couple in front of him. "Does Human Resources know about this?"

"We were just going to tell them today, actually," Ariel assured him with a nod. "Didn't want to say anything until it was official."

"Hmm… Very well, you'll need to report to the immigration office and file your marriage paperwork today," Cobra nodded. "If it does not go through, however, I will be back. And next time, I'll be personally escorting you back to Atlantica. Also know that this is a federal offense to falsify such information. Do I make myself clear?" The last question was pointed more towards Jim, who only nodded quickly in response. "Well I wish you both good luck. Good day." With that said, Cobra left the room, closing the door behind him.

Jim stood there, shaken beyond belief. He was pretty sure his face had paled to a nice shade of white. Engagement? Marriage? To _her_? No way in Hell! Ariel on the other hand seemed completely unfazed and sat calmly down at her desk, checking her computer for any new messages. She glanced up at Jim, then rolled her eyes.

"Look, it's gonna be fine," she reassured him. "All we have to do is put up this little charade until the marriage is sanctified by the state and my new visa is in my hands. Then we simply have the marriage annulled."

"Didn't you hear him?" Jim half-way shrieked, gesturing towards the closed doors. "Falsifying this is a **crime**!" He ran his hand through his bangs then collapsed into the chair in front of her desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. Truthfully he felt like he was going to be sick. This just _couldn't _be happening…

"Calm down, no one's going to find out otherwise," she scoffed. "Let's just head down to the immigration office now and get this over with, okay?"

"Whoa, hey, if I'm gonna go through with this, I have some conditions," he interjected, pointing at her. "I won't do it if there's nothing in it for me."

Ariel leaned forward crossing her arms. She was desperate, she knew she didn't have much room to argue at this point. "What are your terms?"

"I want a raise, my own office and a promotion to Chief Editor," his steel blue eyes meeting hers. "Those are my requirements and I won't follow through with anything until I know I will be receiving all three."

Ariel seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Fine. But only after everything is said and done. After that I will make that happen. Deal?"

"Fine. There's just one more thing you need to do for me," he said rubbing his chin, a sly smirk gracing his lips.

She didn't like the look he was giving her just then. "What?"

"I want you to ask me, _nicely_," his smirk forming into a devious smile.

"Excuse me?"

"Ask me nicely to marry you." He said nonchalantly.

She raised her eyebrows at him, then gave him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look.

"Either you ask, or I won't go with you," he was enjoying making her grovel for once. He suppressed a chuckle when she rolled her eyes then put on a fake smile.

"Okay. While you please marry me?" she batted her eyelashes at him. It wasn't good enough.

"Nope."

"What? Why?"

"Do it correctly, get down on one knee and ask me," he crossed his arms, waiting for her to comply.

She groaned then stood up from her chair, walked around to the front of her desk where he was seated, then kneeled down in front of him. At this moment, she was thankful for the shades being drawn on the windows and doors. This would've been more humiliating with an audience. She cleared her throat, then looked up at him sheepishly.

"Jim-"

"Use my full name." He did his best to keep a straight face. This was priceless!

"Ahem.. James P. Hawkins, will you pretty please marry me?" She folded her hands in front of her trying to make herself look as sweet and innocent as possible.

Jim pretended to ponder for a moment. He noticed she was struggling to hold her 'smile'. Finally he answered her. "Okay, yes I will marry you."

"Thank God.." she stood up as quick as possible, straightening her black skirt. "Now can we go?"

He laughed and stood from the chair. "Yeah, we can go now." His amusement was short-lived, however.

Once the two of them opened the doors and made their way towards the elevators, Jim could hear hushed voices around them. People were whispering to each other, pointing at them. Flynn stopped Jim with his arm.

"What's this I hear?" he asked, a cocky grin on his face. "You're engaged?"

Jim sighed, looking down at the floor. "Yeah, crazy, huh?"

"Crazy? That doesn't even begin to _cover_ it!" Flynn shook his head. "Seriously, to _her_?" He tilted his head back, gesturing to Ariel who was now waiting by the elevators, looking as if nothing had happened.

"Just one of those things, I guess. Forgot to mention it.." Jim shrugged, then tried to walk by but Flynn didn't move his arm.

"My friend, this isn't just one of those things you forget or are too lazy to mention, like when the men's room runs out of toilet paper."

"Whatever. I gotta go, I'll see you around." He lifted Flynn's arm and shoved past him, heading for the elevators, making sure to not make eye contact with anyone


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Your Family Lives Where?

The cab ride there was relatively uneventful, Jim just kept looking out the window, watching the scenery roll by. Ariel was busy sending emails from her phone, not even looking up once. How could she be so cool about this?

It wasn't too long before they arrived at the Department of Immigration office. The place was packed, people from all sorts of countries bustled about, the jumbled noise of foreign languages filled the air. A long line was formed at the front counter. But Ariel didn't have the time or the patience to wait. She grabbed Jim's wrist, dragging him to the front of the line. By doing so, they cut in front of another red-haired woman, presumably Russian. The woman gave Ariel a cold glare. Ariel only held up her finger, trying to excuse herself. She turned her attention to a tall lanky young man standing behind the front counter. He had short ginger hair and a matching ginger goatee.

"Can I help you?" He asked, in a kind of awkward tone.

"Yes, I need to have these marriage forms processed and approved as soon as possible," Ariel said, sliding the packet across the counter to him.

The young man picked the papers up, flipping through them. His eyes wandered back up to Ariel, who stood there waiting for him to respond. Jim only looked around the room, somewhat nervously.

"Come with me," he finally said, motioning them to come around the counter.

He led them to a small confined office in the back. Jim took a seat in front of the empty desk while Ariel stood by the door, her attention turned to her phone once again. Jim glanced over at her, then back at the desk. The name plate on the desk read: Skinner. Jim gulped, he wasn't too sure he was looking forward to meeting the owner of that name. He noted the giant French flag hanging on the wall behind the desk. Just then they heard movement outside the door. Ariel stepped away as the door swung open. She peeked around the door to see who it was, but was surprised to see no one was there. Her brows furrowed in confusion, then her eyes lowered to the floor. She definitely wasn't expecting what she saw next: a short, balding middle-aged man with dark green eyes and a thin mustache stood there, glaring up at her then over at Jim. He folded his hands behind his back, a sneer set in his face.

"Mademoiselle Ariel and Monsieur James, I assume?" He asked in a heavy French accent, giving them each a nod. "Please, have a seat." He gestured Ariel to the empty chair next to Jim.

She sat down, watching the strange short man as he shuffled over to his desk. He looked rather disproportional sitting in a normal sized chair, at a large desk. For moment he said nothing, just sat there with his hands folded in front of his face. His cold calculated stare put Jim on edge. Finally he spoke again.

"So you are _engaged_, hm?" His smile was less than sincere.

"Yep, we are - we're getting married," Ariel nodded, looking over at Jim with a smile.

Jim only forced a smile and nodded her.

Skinner raised a brow as he tapped on the mouse at his computer, pulling up the marital documents. "What I find too coincidental, is zat you turned in zese forms shortly after being informed of your deportation." His voice was low and his tone accusing. "So what I would like to know of course, is: are you only doing zis to avoid leaving ze country?"

Ariel shook her head, "No, this is the real deal. This… is love." She grabbed Jim's hand and laced her fingers with his. This was certainly awkward.

"Ah, love," Skinner sighed, "we French are ze masters of such an emotion." Then he shot Jim a hard stare. "You are aware that marital fraud is a federal crime and does result in a fifty-thousand dollar fine and a long five year stay in prison, no?"

Jim glanced out the open door as two officers were escorting a woman out of the office. His heart began to pound. What has he gotten himself into?

"Come now, James," Skinner chuckled coldly. "If there is anything you would like to tell me, now would be a good time. Do you have something you would like to say?"

Jim slowly shook his head, looking forward.

"No…?"

Then he slowly said, "The truth is, that Ariel and I," he looked at her, her gaze now fixed on him, "are two people who weren't meant to fall in love…but did."

Ariel nodded her head approvingly, then made a face like she was truly touched by his statement.

"Very well, zen," Skinner sneered. "As a requirement, you both will have to complete assessments about each other. Each test contains fifty generic questions about your partner. In order to have your paper work finalized and approved you must complete zese packets and score at least eighty-five percent or better." He set two packets on the desk and slid them forward. "If you cannot pass, however…" He made a slicing motion across his throat. "Bye-bye America, farewell freedom.."

Jim's stomach twisted into knots as he took the packet and flipped through it. He knew everything about Ariel, but how much did she really know about him? He was doomed.

"Does either of your families know about zis engagement of yours?"

"Well, actually, we were just going to fly out to his parents' place in.." Ariel couldn't remember where Jim said his family lived. Truth be told she up until this point didn't give a shit. Now she was kicking herself for it.

"…Alaska," Jim finished for her with a smirk.

"Alaska!" She echoed, smiling at him but her eyes widened in mortification.

"We'll be out there for a whole week," Jim continued, ignoring her reaction. "We planned on telling them shortly after arriving."

"Hmm.." Skinner's narrowed at the both of them. "Well zen, I'll be paying you a visit in a few days, to make sure everything is as you say it is…"

"Of course," Ariel assured him.

"Until zen, good luck," he motioned for them out the door.

They filed out of the room. Jim was more than eager to get outside, into the fresh air. Ariel was trailing behind him.

"Alaska? Are you serious?" She screeched at him once they left the building.

"Hey, you got yourself into this, deal with it," he retorted, spinning around coming face to face with her. "From now on, if we're going to make this work, you are going to do as I say. We'll break the news of our 'engagement' to my parents how I want and when I want. I don't want to hear any whining or complaining out of you while we are there, got it?"

She knew she was at his mercy. His cooperation determined her fate after next week. "Fine.." she mumbled.

"Good, now we have to catch flight tomorrow morning at five," he said, running his hand through his bangs. "I suggest you go home and pack. Lightly, if possible."

She nodded and began searching for a cab to flag down. One pulled over and she opened the door to get in. Before she could close the door, Jim stopped her.

"I'll pick you up at four," he told her, then closed the door for her. He watched as the cab slowly pulled away from the curb and disappeared into traffic.

"This is going to be interesting.." he mumbled, walking down the sidewalk hands in his pockets.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: In-Flight Interrogation

Ariel woke to the sound of her phone vibrating on her nightstand. Cracking one eye open, she glanced at her alarm clock: 3:35. Upon seeing the time, her phone seemed to sense it and begin to vibrate louder and with more urgency. She groaned and snatched the damned piece of technology off her nightstand and held it close to her face, reading the caller I.D.. It was Jim.

"Hello..?" She croaked into the phone, eyes half shut.

"Ariel, you better be up, I'm gonna be there soon. I said I'd pick you up at four," came Jim's voice. It sounded like he was on the road.

"Damn it, Jim…" she whined, sitting up and stretching. Getting up early was nothing new to her, although she never had to get up _this _early - this was obnoxious! "Alright, getting up now…"

"Okay, see you soon." With that the other line went silent.

In a fit of irritation, she threw her phone down onto her bed. She buried her face his her hands, groaning. Soon she got up and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. She turned on the water, while stripping herself of her silk aqua night gown and underwear. Once she was satisfied with the water temperature, she stepped in and welcomed the warmth. She scrubbed herself down vigorously with some orange blossom scented soap and rinsed. Then she washed her long scarlet hair. The water turned it to dark blood color. It stuck to her slim body, gripping her curves and cascading down her small back. As soon as she finished, she turned off the water and grabbed her towel to dry herself off.

She leaned out the bathroom door, wrapping the towel around her body. Her alarm clock read: 3:45. Great. She only had roughly fifteen minutes to get ready. She ran around her room, gathering up her clothes for the day. Wrapping her hair up in the towel, she put on a black-laced bra and black panties. Then she threw on an aqua tank top, a white blouse and a black knee-length skirt. She slipped on a pair of dark purple high heels and walked back into the bathroom to fix her hair. Though it was still a little damp, she made do by pulling back into a high ponytail then braiding it.

She leaned out the door again, 3:55. Racing over to the small wooden jewelry box on her dresser, she pulled out a pair of seashell earrings and her favorite starfish necklace. No sooner had she put on her jewelry, did she hear a knock outside the front door of her town home. Applying a couple squirts of perfume to her wrists and neck, she hurried to the door and opened it.

Jim was standing there in his black leather jacket (pulled over a gray hoodie), a pair of dark green jeans and black boots that went up to his knees. As usual his hair was the same and he had in his gold hoop earring in his left earlobe. He was hit by a wall of her perfume as soon as she answered the door. She smelled nice, but geez! _Did she bathe in the stuff?_

"You ready to go?" he asked, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets.

"Yeah, let me just get my things," she turned and disappeared for a moment, then came back with a rolling suitcase, her handbag and another small bag that had who-knows-what in it.

Jim could only roll his eyes. "Come on, the cab's waiting." He began heading back down the walkway.

"Hold on, be there in a sec," she grunted as she locked the front door.

She followed after him, pulling her luggage behind her. Soon as she reached the cab, Jim opened the trunk and loaded her bags in then shut it again. Ariel slid into the cab and noticed two Starbucks lattés on the backseat in a drink carrier. Jim came in from the other side and sat himself down closing the door behind him.

"To the airport," he mumbled to the driver. Soon the vehicle started off to its destination.

Jim noticed Ariel looking at the lattés. "Here, this one's yours," he said, handing her one of the coffees. "Made sure it was my first stop before coming here."

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip of the hot beverage.

For a moment she sat there contemplating. She didn't even ask him for this nor expect him to, did he do it because it was habit or did he do it to be thoughtful? No, it couldn't be that.. No one ever bothered to do anything nice for her. Why start now? She glanced over at Jim, who had his earphones in, listening to the music on his i-phone while staring out the window. His breathing was calm and even. He seemed so at ease..

The sudden vibrating of her phone brought her back to from her thoughts. She reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone, reading her newly received message. Nothing necessarily urgent, it was just a reminder from Edna at Human Resources saying that when the two of them returned, she needed to speak with them and file their relationship status in the company's database.

_'I look forward to our visit, darling. Have a good trip.'_

-Edna

Ariel dropped her phone back into her bag and leaned back into the seat and sighed. The entire rest of the way to the airport was spent in silence.

After a good forty-five minute drive, they arrived at the airport. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, turning the sky shades of blue and pink. Ariel and Jim stepped out of the cab and retrieved their luggage from the trunk. Jim paid the cabbie his fare and headed inside with Ariel right behind him.

They weaved through the crowd, making their way to the terminal for their flight. Ariel had purchased her ticket the night before online so it was in the system. Soon they were ready to board. As they walked out to the airstrip, Ariel was slightly confused. In front of them was a poor excuse for a plane. A small white body, clearly worn from weather and age with dents and chipping paint. The wings were slightly lopsided and the rear tailfin was bent to the right. It looked like it only fit a small handful of passengers, ten at the most. She questioned how sturdy it was and whether it would hold up in flight, or fall apart in midair sending them both falling to their deaths. She looked at Jim as if hoping he'd say their plane was still on the way.

"No, that's our flight," he said with a smirk, as if reading her mind. "Don't worry, I've flown in it a dozen times. It's perfectly safe. So far it's survived since the eighties."

_'That isn't helping..' _she thought to herself, walking wearily behind him.

There weren't many other passengers on the plane. Just a middle-aged couple and their teenage son. Jim took the seat nearest to the window while Ariel sat immediately next to him. The seats were worn and creaked with every little movement. For a moment they sat perfectly still, then they heard the plane's engines roar to life. Suddenly the plane jerked forward. Ariel jumped like a spooked cat, arms flailing then grabbing onto of her seat, digging her nails in.

Jim couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head as he blew a strand of hair away from his face. "Relax, would you?"

"Easy for you to say!" She snapped as they began to slowly moved forward down the runway.

Soon they were in the air. Ariel pulled the assessment packet out of her handbag and leaned back reading over the questions. "Let's start getting to know each other more, shall we? It's the only way we're gonna pull this off."

"I already know everything about you," he scoffed, scratching his cheek. "At least the stuff that matters."

"Oh really?" she asked skeptically. "You know everything about me huh?"

"Yep," he nodded, shrugging off his jacket.

She raised a brow at him. "Alright, expert, what's my favorite color?"

"Aqua," he quickly answered, not even looking at her.

"What am I allergic to?"

"Coconuts."

"What size shoe do I wear?"

"Seven." He didn't miss a beat, this frustrated her.

She bit her lower lip in frustration. Damn, he was too good at this…

"Well fine, let's focus on you then, smart-ass," she glared at him.

"Alright go ahead," he gestured for her to continue, sounding completely uninterested. Truthfully his mind was elsewhere. He told his mom that he had started seeing someone and that he was bringing her with him. He just failed to mention exactly _who _it was.

"Okay, let's see.." she began to read the questions off of the paper in front of her. "What's your favorite color?"

"Red."

"Favorite sport?"

"Don't have one."

"Biggest fear or phobia?"

"Small spaces."

"Favorite pass time?"

"Reading and writing."

"What is your biggest pet-peeve?"

"You."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

This game of Twenty-One Questions went on for a long while. Eventually though Ariel got bored. She reclined her seat and yawned.

"I'm gonna catch up on some sleep. How much longer do we have left of our flight?"

"About eight hours," he replied looking down at his phone. "By all means, please knock yourself out." He really was tired of hearing her voice. He just wanted silence for the whole rest of the trip.

She sent him a venomous stare before laying back and closing her eyes. She slept the whole rest of the way there, giving Jim a chance to think and prepare himself for the long week ahead.

**(A.N: Just so everyone knows, yes I am aware that I'm not following the movie precisely. I did that on purpose because I didn't want to feel like I was copying the whole script. This is a story that is loosely based on and inspired by the film. If these two starred in it, this is how I think it would go. With that said, please review and I'll continue to post more! ****J**** )**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Surprise, We're Engaged!

By around three that afternoon, the plane landed at the airport in Montressor, Alaska. Looking out the window as they rolled down the runway, Jim could spot his mom and grandmother standing by the terminal, holding paper signs with his name on them. Both had huge excited grins. He glanced over at Ariel who was still asleep. …With her head resting on his shoulder. When did **that** happen? Awkwardly, he glanced around as if he was worried about attracting glances from onlookers. He moved his hand toward her, paused, flexed his fingers nervously then tapped her on the shoulder with his finger.

"Hey, we're here."

She groaned and swatted his hand away. Suddenly her eyes snapped open as she realized where she was. Her eyes, wide as saucers, slowly moved their gaze upward. She gasped at how close she was to him. "Ugh!" She shoved herself away from him as if he were diseased. A bold shade of crimson spread across her face. _'That did __**not **__just happen!'_

In her struggle, Jim was slammed against the window, his shoulder now throbbing in protest. "Ow! What the Hell?" He grabbed his shoulder and winced. That'll be a lovely bruise tomorrow…

She only shot him a cold stare, then grabbed her bag off of the floor and set it in her lap.

Jim's cocky side got the better of him. He smirked rubbing his aching shoulder. "What? Got a little lonely sitting a half a foot away?"

"Shut up!" she hissed, trying hard to compose herself. The blush on her face only deepened.

Jim chuckled at seeing her so flustered. It was quite entertaining, to say the least.

The plane finally came to a complete stop. Everyone filed out, Jim and Ariel being the last. He was the first to descend the stairs from the plane, waving at his mother and grandmother who were waving back.

"Jim! It's so good to see you!" his mother could no longer contain her excitement as she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Good to see you too, mom," he smiled, returning the hug. He glanced over at his grandmother who was grinning ear to ear.

"Doesn't your grandma get a hug?" she asked teasingly, holding her arms out.

Jim broke the embrace with his mother and turned to hug her.

"Where's the girl?" his grandmother asked, stepping away. He actually almost forgot…

He turned around to see Ariel descending the stairs awkwardly, her high heels making it more of a challenge. Her frustration was apparent on her face. Jim took a side- step and pointed at her as she approached them, a smirk on his face.

"There she is," he gave her a forced smile. Although, he couldn't help but find her frustration comical. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a forced smile…

"Hello, hi," she smiled as she joined them. "I'm Ariel, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Hi, I'm Sarah, Jim's mom," the woman standing nearest to Jim introduced herself. The resemblance was uncanny. Same shade of brown hair and blue eyes. She moved forward to give Ariel a hug, but she shied away, so she settled for a handshake instead.

Ariel's eyes then fell on the elderly woman standing next to Sarah. She was immediately confused. This older woman looked nothing like Sarah or Jim. Her skin and smaller stature suggested that she was of an Oriental decent. Her bright white hair was pulled back into a tight bun. However neither Jim nor his mother bore these features.

Jim noticed the confusion on Ariel's face, so he interjected, "This is Grandma Fa-Hawkins."

His grandmother smiled and bowed respectfully. "I'm his grandfather's second wife. We met a few years after his first had passed. Now, do you prefer to be called just Ariel, or 'Satan's Mistress'? We've heard it both ways.."

Ariel gave her a questioning look, turned to Jim with a look of murder in her eyes.

Jim quickly stepped in, "Don't worry, she's only joking." He laughed nervously.

Ariel pretended to be amused and laughed back. Without warning, Grandma Fa pulled Ariel into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around her waist and squeezing the breath out of her.

"Alright, let's head home," Sarah finally said, freeing Ariel from Grandma Fa's vice-like grip.

The four of them retrieved the luggage and loaded it into the back of a green and white pickup truck. As they drove into town, Ariel couldn't help but notice the names of all the businesses: 'Hawkins Hardware', 'Hawkins' General Goods and Trade', 'Hawkins' Shoe Repair' and so on… What was going on here? It was like his family owned the whole town! He never mentioned this in the past…

"Jim!" she whispered, trying to get his attention. Unfortunately his mind was elsewhere. He was staring out the window of the backseat. He seems to do that a lot… "Jim…Jim!" She tried again, irritation building up inside her. Eventually her annoyance reached its peak. She punched him in the arm.

_That _did the trick. "What?" he snapped at her quietly, a scowl fixed onto his face.

"You mind telling me about, you know, the town?" she gestured at the window.

He shrugged and composed himself. "What about it?"

"Why does you name appear on every other building?"

"The Hawkins family were among the first settlers to establish this town," Sarah spoke from the driver's seat. "The family businesses have been passed down for generations. Currently his father, Sinbad Hawkins and myself head the operations at all of them."

Ariel's eyes widened. Could it be that her assistant came from a wealthy family?

They reached the small harbor, where a speed boat was docked. Ariel was immediately alarmed. She was afraid of the water. She nearly drowned when she was a little girl, in which she had a phobia ever since. Jim noticed how uncomfortable she became.

"What's the matter?" he asked curiously.

Ariel stood on the edge overlooking the docks. "I, uh… Is there any other way to get to where we're going?"

He looked at her as if she had gone completely insane. "Um… No? The only way to get to an _island_ is by _boat_." He said the last part slowly and used a tone as if he were talking to a child.

She rolled her eyes at him. Why? Why did have to be on an island? "I don't like water."

This surprised him. However this was no time for her to be scared. "Look you'll be fine. I'll be right next to you the whole way. Besides, it's only a five-minute ride anyway."

She sighed, but then nodded.

Sarah and his grandmother were the first to climb down the ladder leading to the dock. Jim handed their luggage down to them then began to climb down. Ariel looked nervously at the ladder then at her heels. Jim touched down onto the dock, then looked up at Ariel, still standing there.

"You coming?" He asked somewhat impatiently.

"I can't, I…" She looked at him then at the ladder.

"Oh, well, then you can stay here and I'll be back in a week," he said tauntingly, starting to turn around and make like he was going to get in the boat.

"Wait!" She said, thinking he was serious. "Just give me a second…" Awkwardly, she turned around and started to unsteadily climb down.

"Jim, maybe you should help her down?" Sarah said, her hands on her hips. She didn't approve of her son not acting like a gentleman.

He rolled his eyes, but replaced his look of annoyance with a smile. Approaching the ladder, climbed up to meet her halfway. "Come on _honey_, you can do this…"

Ariel rolled her eyes in disgust as she continued downward. Suddenly she felt something on her backside. _'Is he holding me up by my ass?'_ Her face instantly flushed red.

"You're doing fine," his false encouragement came again.

"Take your hand off of my ass!" she hissed at him from over her shoulder. He immediately recoiled his hand with a chuckle.

The rest of the climb was slow, but within a minute they were standing down on the dock. All of them boarded the boat and they were off, speeding towards a small island off in the distance. It wasn't long before they arrived at the dock leading up to a large building. It looked like a house, only three stories tall with massive walls and windows. It a lodge-like feel to it.

_'They ARE rich!' _Ariel thought to herself as she gaped at the mansion.

Jim noticed her staring. "What?"

"You didn't tell me you were rich," she whispered to him.

"Technically, my family is, not me.." he shrugged.

As they approached the house, Jim noticed that there were a lot of people roaming around outside their home. Something was up..

"Mom, what's going on?" he asked, his brows furrowed.

Sarah turned around with a look that essentially said: 'You caught me..'

"Well, we decided that since it's been such a long time since you last came home, we'd throw you a welcome home party."

Jim shook his head. He really wasn't in the mood for a gathering right now. This was also going to make breaking the news of their engagement all the more 'interesting'. "So who's all here?"

Sarah looked over her shoulder. "Oh just a few of the neighbors, old friends, some cousins, aunts and uncles…"

_'Shit…'_ he sighed.

Several introductions and handshakes later, they made it into the house. Everyone was gathered in the massive living room.

"Well, this is interesting…" Ariel said through her smile, looking around at all the unfamiliar faces that surrounded her.

"Trust me, this isn't how I imagined the first day, either…" He whispered back to her.

From within the kitchen came the sound of crashes and broken plates. The both of them froze, looking toward the source of the sounds. From the kitchen door burst forth a slightly rusted copper robot. It's blue eyes scanning the room frantically until they fell on Jim.

"Jimmy! Oh Jimmy!" the robot shouted as he clumsily ran towards Jim with his metal arms outstretched.

Jim made a face that screamed panic. He braced himself for impact. The robot flung itself into Jim's arms, squeezing him as tight as possible. Jim's body went stiff as the air was instantly crushed out of his lungs.

"Nice to see you, too, B.E.N.," he gasped as the robot released him.

"I'm sorry I just, I missed you so much, buddy!" B.E.N. embraced him again, oily tears forming in his eyes.

Ariel watched the whole scene, smirking at the robot's antics.

"B.E.N., I'd like you to meet Ariel," Jim said, pushing the robot away from him and gestured to the redhead. "Ariel, this is B.E.N."

B.E.N's glowing eyes fell on the red-haired woman standing next to Jim. "Wow! What a beauty!" he screamed.

Ariel smiled and held out her hand to shake his, but was instead pulled into the same rib-crushing hug Jim fell victim to only moments before. What is it with everyone here, do they not understand personal space? She looked over at Jim, who had walked away to go speak with some dog-humanoid.

Finally B.E.N released her, allowing her to finally breathe normally again. She was about to go join Jim but the robot grabbed onto her wrist with his metal hand.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone!" he shouted excitedly. He yanked on her arm, dragging her around the room to meet everybody.

B.E.N. eventually got distracted by the smoke detector going off in the kitchen. "Oh no! The dinner rolls!" He shouted, rushing towards the kitchen door and disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Ariel breathed a sigh of relief, having had enough of B.E.N's eccentric personality. She found Jim again and walked over to stand next to him. He was still speaking with the strange canine, who she later learned was named Delbert, when another man walked into the room. He was fairly tall, had dark chocolate-brown hair, dark facial hair, brown eyes and a broad muscular frame.

Jim suddenly noticed him from behind Delbert. He rolled his eyes and excused himself from the family friend. He motioned for Ariel to follow him and they approached the man, standing there with his muscular arms crossed.

"Hey," Jim mumbled as he stopped only a couple of feet away. It was apparent that he was not looking forward to speaking to him.

"Jim," the man nodded at him. Then his gaze turned to Ariel.

Ariel froze. This man was intimidating. He made her extremely nervous with his scrutinizing stare.

"Dad, this is Ariel," Jim finally broke the awkward silence between the three of them. "Ariel, this is my dad, Sinbad Hawkins."

Ariel nodded at Sinbad, who also nodded in return. Then he turned to his son again.

"Jim, we need to talk-" he was cut off my Jim holding up his hand and shaking his head.

"There's nothing to talk about…" Jim glared at him, then turned and walked away with Ariel close behind him.

Sinbad watched as his son and the redhead walked off, sighing and shaking his head.

"What was that all about?" Ariel whispered, once they were a safe distance away.

"Nothing." Jim replied with a look that told her to mind her own business. She didn't press the matter any further.

Jim felt something gently touch his left arm. He turned around and met the gaze of a beautiful young woman with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Hi, Jim," she spoke, a smile on her face.

"Belle…." he breathed, then threw his arms around her in a tight embrace.

Ariel noticed his sudden change in mood and watched the two interact.

"What are you doing here? I thought you moved back to Oregon to take care of your dad?"

Belle giggled. "I did, I'm just up visiting. I was surprised when your mom contacted me, saying that you were going to be in town for a week. I'm only here till Thursday, but I figured I'd say hi while I was here." Then took a step back and glanced at Ariel with a smile. "Is this the lucky girl your mom told me about?"

Jim turned to Ariel and brought her close to him with his arm around her shoulders. "Yes. Belle, this is Ariel, Ariel this is Belle."

The two women shook hands and smiled.

"Well, I'm gonna go catch up with everyone. It was nice meeting you," Belle said and nodded to Ariel. Then she walked away and sat down next to Sarah on the couch.

"Who was that?" Ariel said with a mischievous smile.

"Just an old friend…" Jim replied, as he watched Belle walk away.

_'Yeah, right…'_ Ariel thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

A few moments later, Jim realized that everyone had settled down, and all eyes were on the both of them. His mom always made him say something when he came to visit. Well, it was now or never…

He cleared his throat and looked around the room. Everyone went silent, waiting for him to speak. "Well first of all, it's great to be home again, glad to see all the familiar faces. It's been great to be able to catch up with everyone.." He looked at Ariel out of the corner of his eye. "And Ariel, here, has an announcement she'd like to make." He said as he took a step away from her.

Ariel felt her heart jump into her mouth. She looked at Jim, then at her now captive audience. She swallowed hard, then gave her best smile. "Well, wow. Uh, yeah well, first of all I want to say thank you for the welcoming party," she glanced Sarah who was grinning ear to ear. "And second, I'd like to announce that…we're engaged."

The whole room shared a collected gasp followed by a loud applause. Sarah looked as if tears of joy were going to roll down her cheeks as she smiled and clapped.

Grandma Fa shouted from the couch, "Now kiss her!" A couple others joined in and echoed her, followed by a couple of wolf howls.

Jim's eyes went wide as he turned to look at Ariel, who had the exact same look on her face. "Um, we're not really comfortable with showing any affection in front of other people, so-"

"Oh shut up and grow a pair," his grandmother cut him off. "Kiss her already!"

The two looked at each other, then Ariel leaned in and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "There, there we go," she said, backing up quickly.

"There, see?" he said, looking to his grandmother, who still wasn't satisfied.

"That was pathetic," she said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Come on, a _real _kiss! Put some passion behind it!"

Sarah joined in, "Come on son, you can do it! Just one kiss!" This really made him turn red.

The whole room began to chant, "Kiss her! Kiss her!"

Finally having enough of everyone's encouragement, they took a step closer to one another. Ariel wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed his hands on her waist. Everyone went silent as they leaned in to each other, Ariel tilting her head back and Jim leaning down. Their eyes closed as their lips met. For a moment it felt like time stopped, everything was still and not a sound could be heard. They were brought back into reality by the sound of a loud applause. They broke the kiss and quickly looked away from one another, their faces a nice shade of scarlet.

"Huh…" Jim breathed as he brought his fingers to his lips. It wasn't really that bad, actually…

Grandma Fa rushed towards the two and wrapped her arms around them, holding them tight. "Don't go anywhere, I have something for you," she said, finally releasing them. She shuffled away as Jim got pats on the back from a bunch of the men and Ariel received hugs from the women.

Not too much later, his grandmother returned holding what appeared to be a folded quilt. She had a huge grin on her face as she handed the folded fabric to Ariel. "This is an old family heirloom passed down from the ancestors of my family," she explained, looking Ariel dead in the eyes. "The name in Chinese escapes me, but translated to English, it means 'Baby-Maker'."

"Oh, wow, um… Thank you.." Ariel stammered, taking the quilt from her. She quickly shoved it into Jim's arms. "We'll, uh, be sure to give that a test run…"

A couple of hours later all the guests had gone home. Jim yawned and stretched his arms. "Well, I think I'm gonna head to bed, it was a long trip.."

"I'm kinda tired too, I'll just need to know where my room is," Ariel chimed in.

Sarah chuckled lightly, "You're both staying in the same room, of course."

Both Ariel and Jim gave her the same dumbfounded look.

"We're not under the false assumption that you two don't sleep together," she smiled. "Come on, I'll show you two to your room."

The both of them followed her up the stairs. Wonderful, so much for privacy…


	6. Chapter 6

**Yay! Sorry it took so long, my dears! (Being the mother of a five-month old doesn't leave much wiggle room to write LOL) Anyway, here it is, chapter 6! I hope you like it! Continue to review and I will continue to post ;) Thank you!**

Chapter Six: Pesky Pets and Spending Time with the 'In-Laws'

Once the three of them arrived to Ariel and Jim's room, Sarah unlocked the door and swung it open. That very same instant, small pink blob came flying out the open door, right into Ariel's face. She shrieked in surprise, holding her hands out in front of her, trying to keep the giggling blob at bay.  
"Morph!" Jim shouted happily.

Immediately the blob turned its attention in the direction of its name and squealed with delight as it zipped over to Jim and nuzzled his cheek with a soft purr. Jim laughed and tickled the little blob.

"W-what is **that**?" Ariel gasped, pointing to the creature cuddling up on Jim's shoulder. She never was very good with pets. …Of any species.

"He's a Morph," Jim said in a tone like she should have known. "He used to be my grandfather Silver's pet but he gave him to me shortly before he passed away."

Morph flew back over to Ariel and changed into a miniature version of her, his hands on his hips looking her up and down. Then he changed into a hideous witch with green skin and a black dress on a broom stick cackling wickedly. Suddenly a pair of hands snatched him and he disappeared with a faint squeak.

"Heh-heh…" Jim chuckled nervously, holding Morph close. "Don't mind him, he's just playing around."

"Mm-hmm.." Ariel arched an eyebrow at him.

They entered the room and Sarah helped them bring in their luggage. As soon as they were settled in she wished the both of them good-night and left the room closing the door behind her. An awkward silence enveloped the both of them. Ariel glanced around the room. In the center was a large king-sized bed with deep crimson and gold trimmed blankets, to the left a little ways was a small stone fireplace. Across the room was a set of double doors that lead out to the balcony with a view of the water. On the other side, opposite from the bed, was the bathroom and a coat closet. All the furniture: the vanity, the bed frame, a couple of chairs and a small table, were made out of what appeared to be cedar. Ariel had to admit, it was pretty nice. Overall it felt cozy and comfortable.

"So…" Jim began, rubbing the back of his neck, "about our sleeping arrangement-"

"You're on down there," Ariel cut him off, pointing to the floor at the foot of the bed.

Jim looked to where she was pointing. "Fine…" he mumbled, going over to his suitcase and unpacking some clothes. He disappeared into the bathroom to go take a shower.

Ariel took advantage of the privacy to change out of her clothes and into her silk pajamas. No sooner after she climbed into bed, did the bathroom door swing back open and warm steam filled the room. Jim stepped out in a grey t-shirt and black boxers, his wet bangs hanging down in his eyes. He went over to the cupboard by the dresser and pulled out a wool blanket then knelt down, spreading it across the floor. He sat straight up, peering over the foot of the bed. Ariel was sitting cross-legged on the bed, checking her emails on her phone.

"Hey, you mind passing me a-" he was cut off by a pillow being thrown into his face. "Thanks.." he mumbled, setting the pillow down on the floor and laid down with his arms crossed behind his head.

Ariel finished sending out her messages then pulled the blankets back and settled into bed. For few minutes she just laid there staring at the ceiling.

She cleared her throat. "Well, your family certainly seems nice…"

"Yeah they are," came Jim's voice from the floor.

"So… what's up with you and your dad?" She asked, twiddling her thumbs.

"Nothing. Good night, Ariel," his voice sounded bitter. There was something going on between those two, Jim just refused to talk about it. She could hear him shift to his side.

Ariel decided not to push the issue any further. "'Night." She rolled over and fell asleep.

* * *

Early the next morning, Ariel woke up with a start at the sound of her phone vibrating on the nightstand. She lifted her hair from her face and fumbled around for her phone. It was one of her investors calling, confirming their upcoming meeting. Ariel immediately picked up, nearly leaping out of the bed.

"Lawrence, darling, how are you?" She chimed, using as sweet a voice as possible. "What? Oh, yes we're definitely still on for next week.."

Jim groaned, not all too pleased about being woken up so early. "Ariel!"

Ariel looked over the edge of the bed, the phone still held up to her ear. Jim glared up at her, his eyes still half closed and his hair a wild mess. She mouthed the word 'sorry' and started rummaging around for her robe. In the middle of her searching, she accidentally stepped on Jim's stomach.

"GAH!" He gasped, curling into a ball. "Ariel!"

"Ooh! Sorry!" she whispered, shrugging on her pink silk robe. She then went straight to the door and left the room, closing it quietly behind her.

Jim coughed and gasped again, sprawling his arms and legs across the floor. _'Why the Hell did I agree to this?'_

Once Ariel made it down the stairs, still talking into her phone, she headed out the front door.

…With Morph trailing close behind.

"What? No, I can't move our meeting date up, I'm out of town till the end of the week.." Ariel paced back and forth on the lawn, becoming slightly annoyed. "Of course I consider you an important asset to the company, you're one of my personal favorites, you know that!"

Morph, who had been watching from the front porch, decided that it was time to have some fun. He zipped over to Ariel, then proceeded to buzz around her head, chirping and giggling mischievously.

However, Ariel was not going to put up with his antics. She ducked and tried to move as far away as quickly as possible. But Morph only followed.

"Stop that!" she hissed at him, trying to swat him away with her free hand.

"Stop that! Stop that!" Morph mimicked. Then he noticed the phone in her other hand, pressed up against her ear.

"No, no. I wasn't talking to you Lawrence, I'm sorry…" Ariel rolled her eyes.

Morph began making advances for her phone, getting up in her face, and attempting to knock it out of her hand. When that didn't work, he flew off, leaving Ariel flustered and panting from running all over the yard. Suddenly she heard a high-pitched screech from behind her. She spun around, only to see a brown and black hawk flying straight towards her.

_'Oh shit…' _she thought, her eyes enlarging to saucers. She then turned and began to run in the opposite direction, while trying to still focus on her conversation with Lawrence. She could hear the hawk getting closer, and knew that she needed to end her call.

"Lawrence, it was great hearing from you, I'll see you next Monday - ciao!" With that, she ducked her head down and held her phone up in her hand above her head.

The hawk snatched the phone out of her hand and flew towards the beach. Ariel watched as the massive bird flew out and dropped her phone into the water. Then the hawk changed back into Morph, giggling hysterically.

"No- no- no!" Ariel gasped, as Morph flew back over to her, clearly pleased with himself.

Once he was within reach, Ariel lost it and made an attempt to swat at him angrily. But Morph was too fast, dodging every swing.

"You little…" she growled through her gritted teeth.

A chase ensued, Ariel running after Morph, trying to catch him. Morph was rather enjoying this game, so continued leading her all around the front lawn. From inside the house, Sarah and Grandma Fa were watching the scene.

"Aw.. Isn't that sweet?" Sarah cooed, watching Ariel 'play' with Morph.

"Absolutely precious," Grandma Fa replied, a smile on her face.

Jim happened to come up behind them, now dressed wearing his leather jacket, a grey t-shirt, and black jeans. He looked out the window they were watching from, and shook his head with a chuckle.

"Your Grandma and I want to take Ariel out shopping in town today," Sarah said, turning to Jim. "We also have a surprise for her."

"Alright, I'll go tell her to get ready," he said, going out the door. As he opened the front door, Morph flew into the house at breakneck speed, chirping and giggling.

Ariel had given up on catching that little terrorist of a blob. God, how she hated this… She was currently bent over, her hands on her knees sweating and out of breath.

"Come on, you gotta go in and get ready," Jim said as he approached her, nodding his head back towards the house. "You okay?"

"Morph!" She gasped. "He turned into this vicious hawk-thing and he chased me until he grabbed my phone and flew over there." The entire time she was telling him her story she made gestures with her hands dramatically. "Then dropped my phone in the water!"

Jim was rubbing his chin as he listened to her story. "Okay…"

"Okay? I need my phone!" she practically screamed, waving her arms.

"Okay, chill out," he said holding his hands up in front of himself. "No problem, tomorrow we'll go out and get you a new one in town, okay?"

This seemed to calm Ariel down. She slowly nodded, her hands on her hips. "Okay…"

"But really, you need to get ready," he said, stepping closer to her. "Mom and my grandma are taking you to town today to go shopping, and give you a surprise."

Ariel rolled her eyes. "I hate shopping…I hate surprises.."

Jim noticed that Sarah and Grandma Fa were still watching from the front window. He looked back at Ariel and smiled at her.

"Mom and Grandma are watching," he said, his arms outstretched as he got even closer to her. "Come here, give me a hug, Sweetie.."

Ariel had to keep herself from shoving him away from her. She took a step back, keeping her hands at her sides. Her entire body went stiff as he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back.

"There we go, isn't that better?" He said with exaggerated affection in his voice.

Ariel slowly brought her hands up to his upper back, returning the 'hug'. Then she froze when she felt his hands slowly move further down her back and settling onto her rear. He took this moment to lightly grope her buttocks. This really bothered her.

"Touch my ass one more time, and I'll cut your balls off in your sleep," she threatened in a low whisper.

"That's fair," he said, quickly releasing her. "Now go, they're waiting on you."

She groaned and slowly made her way back to the house.

* * *

Later that day, after spending all morning and the early part of the afternoon shopping, Ariel, Sarah, Grandma Fa, and Belle were sitting at a table in an old tavern-style restaurant. The air was heavy with the smells of cigarettes and beer. The tables clearly had seen better days, a layer of grease and grime built up on every single one of them. In the middle of the dining area was a large stage with a dark red curtain pulled across it, that appeared to be used for musicians and karaoke. Sarah was enjoying telling embarrassing stories of Jim when he was younger. Everyone was having a good time, although Ariel had to 'pretend' to enjoy herself.

"So, how did you enjoy your day in town?" Sarah asked Ariel as she took a sip of her martini.

"It was a lot of fun, thank you for taking me," she replied, glancing around the run-down building.

"It's no problem," Grandma Fa assured her with a smile. "You're practically family now."

_Family…_ Ariel sighed inwardly. Not a word she would use in the same sentence as herself.

Suddenly the lights dimmed in the dining area and a spotlight shone down on the closed stage curtain. Techno music began to blare from the large black speakers situated on either side of the stage. Ariel looked around, her brows furrowed in confusion. _What's going on?_

"This is your surprise," Sarah shouted over the ear-splitting music, a huge grin on her face.

_'Oh crap…' _Ariel swallowed hard. This was not going to end well…

From behind the curtain burst forth B.E.N., wearing a black bowtie, white cuffs around his metal wrists and a black speedo. Essentially he looked like the worst 'Chip n' Dale' dancer …ever. He struck a pose, flexing his rusty robotic arms.

Sarah, Grandma Fa, and Belle began laughing hysterically at the sight of the

old robot. He then began to dance to the music, moving his hips in a suggestive manner, and winking at another table with a group of young blonde ladies who were giggling and taking pictures with their phones.

Grandma Fa pulled a five dollar bill out of her change purse and waved it around above her head. B.E.N spotted the bill and made his way over to their table, dancing as he went. Ariel wanted to just shoot herself, this was ridiculous. As he took the money from Grandma Fa, stuffing the bill into the side of his speedo, he noticed Ariel sinking down in her seat.

"Ah! The bride," he shrieked, grabbing her by the wrists and yanking her out of her chair.

He dragged her up onto the stage with him and began dancing with her, spinning her around and holding her close. She tried to get away from him repeatedly, but every time he would just tighten his grip on her. She could hear the other women laughing from their table. This was humiliating! Finally B.E.N let her go, and she took this opportunity to step out for some air.

Once outside she walked over to the railing of the dock outside the restaurant, looking down at the water. _'God, I can't wait until this week is over…'_

* * *

Meanwhile, Jim was back at the house, looking for his father. Sarah had told him that Sinbad needed to speak with him. Although he wasn't all to eager about it, Jim told her he'd speak with him. After a long while, Jim found him out behind the house, shooting arrows at a hay bale with a target strapped to it.

"Hey," Jim mumbled, approaching him with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

"Your mother suggested I take up a recreational activity to keep me on my feet." Sinbad knocked another arrow onto his bow and drew back on the bowstring. He took aim, closing one eye. "She send you to talk to me?" he asked, then released the arrow, sending it straight into the center of the target.

"Yeah," Jim responded, looking at the ground. "So what's up?"

"She thinks I should apologize for my behavior yesterday," he explained, setting his bow down on a picnic table next to him. "Said it wasn't a good way to welcome home our son and his fiancé." He stood with his arms crossed, facing his son.

"Alright," Jim said, shrugging with his hands still in his pockets. He brought his gaze up to make eye contact with his dad.

"So," Sinbad scratched the back of his head, "I'm sorry, son."

"It's fine," Jim said, looking away again.

There was a long pause, then Sinbad spoke again, "Look, I just don't get what's going on with you. Ever since you got that job in New York it's like we don't know who you are anymore. You hardly call, your visits are rare, we've gone several holidays without seeing you because your boss said you had to work, and now we come to find out that that same witch is marrying our son?"

Jim clenched his fists in his pockets and grinded his teeth. He knew this was going to happen…

"We didn't even know you were seeing someone until three days ago," Sinbad continued his rant. "Son, I just don't know what to think of all this." He shook his head with those last words.

Finally Jim had enough, he snapped his head back to his father. "Look, I know your pissed about everything. Me going off and doing what I wanted to do, pursuing a career that actually meant something to me, and not staying here to take over the family business. But you know what? It's my life, my choices. I'm sorry if that offends you!" He began to raise his voice, his anger reaching its peak.

"And as for Ariel, never refer to her that way again - ever. Yes, we're getting married, and no, I didn't expect your blessing or anything just-just…" he sighed, closing his eyes. "You know what? Apology **not** accepted." He shook his head and walked away leaving Sinbad standing there, his eyes downcast.

* * *

Ariel finally returned home with Jim's mom and grandmother, the three of them slowly making their way down the dock towards the house. Grandma Fa had linked arms with her as they walked, the two of them chatting about their day, and bringing up B.E.N's little show.

As they approached the house, Sarah noticed that the garage was open and saw Jim with his earphones in his ears, his jacket sitting on the ground next to him. He was leaning over the front end of a vintage-model Corvette, clearly working on it. From the way he yanked out parts and dropped them on the ground next to him, gave away that he was not in a visiting mood.

"Oh no…" Sarah sighed, covering her forehead with the palm of her hand.

"What? What's going on?" Ariel asked, thoroughly confused.

"He's working on that old, junk car again," Sarah responded shaking her head.

"Huh?" Now Ariel was really lost.

"Come on dear," Grandma Fa took her by the arm, "he needs some time to himself. Let him cool down.."

* * *

Once Ariel was back inside, she decided to go up to their room and take a shower to 'wash' B.E.N off of her. She stepped into the shower, welcoming the hot water that enveloped her body in warmth. She sighed contently and began to wash her body, making sure to scrub vigorously. Then she gave the same attention to her fiery red hair. After she was all cleaned up, she turned off the water and rubbed the steam away from the shower door. Glancing over at the towel rung, she noticed that there was no towel there.

"Damn," she mumbled to herself. "Where's a towel?"

While she was in the bathroom, Jim had come into the room, still listening to his music. He walked out onto the deck outside the bedroom, looking out over the water. After a brief pause, he took a deep breath, his lungs filling with the salty air. Then he started undressing, first removing his shirt.

Meanwhile, Ariel began searching around the bathroom for a towel. Unfortunately all she could find was a small hand towel and a washcloth. Those weren't going to cut it. Covering her chest with the hand towel and her lower regions with the washcloth, she slowly made her way to the bathroom door and poked her head out.

She was spooked by Morph, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere in front of her face, chirping happily. Ariel screamed, falling backwards onto her rear end, losing the towel and the washcloth in the process.

Stumbling back to her feet, she tried to shoo the shape shifter away. But Morph only continued to hover around her. Then he changed himself into a little gray puppy, yapping and growling at her. This really made her jump. She was terrified of dogs - of any size!

"Go! Get!" She hissed, kicking her foot forward, making the dog back up as it growled at her. Then she spotted a small rug just a foot behind him, and got an idea.

Ariel continued to advance towards the impersonator-dog, forcing it to back up even further, until he stopped on the rug. Seeing her chance, in one fluid motion she quickly stooped over and yanked on the rug, sliding it across the floor into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut before Morph had a chance to realize what was happening and escape.

She sighed with a smile, and turned to continue her search for a towel. At that same moment, Jim walked back into the room, completely naked, his music still blaring in his ears. Neither of them realized what was happening until - SMACK! Their bare bodies collided, sending them to the floor with Ariel landing on top of Jim.

Dazed, Jim ripped his earphones out. "What the Hell-" His eyes looked as if they were about to bug out of his skull.

Ariel looked down at the fleshy mass she landed on and mirrored his expression.

"OH MY GOD!" they shrieked in unison.

"Why are you naked?" she screeched, flailing around awkwardly, trying to get off of him.

"Why are you _wet_?" he returned, frozen in place, unable to take his eyes off of her.

Ariel finally managed to get off of him, covering her breasts with one arm and placing her other hand between her legs.

"You better start explaining - **now**!" she demanded, staggering backward away from him as he moved to stand up, showing - well, all his male parts.

"Oh God," she snapped, averting her eyes. "Cover up, you're showing everything!" She dove down below the side of the bed, scrambling for something to cover herself with. All she could find was a knitted quilt which she used to cover up her front.

Jim quickly grabbed a folded towel from the cupboard and wrapped it around his toned waist. "_I_ need to explain? _You _were the one who come flying out of nowhere wet with no clothes on!" He retorted, pointing at her accusingly.

"No! It was _Morph_!" She argued back. He gave her a puzzled look. "That little…_thing_ is vicious! He turned into this-this dog and tried to attack me. Go look and see for yourself!" She gestured to the closed bathroom door.

Jim gave her a less-than convinced look, then headed over to the bathroom door. Ariel ducked down nervously as he turned the doorknob and opened the door. Morph emerged in his normal gelatinous form, flying past Jim and out of the room.

"Whoa! Barely escaped with my life there," he mocked, holding his hands up in fake terror. Then he went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Ariel buried her face into the bed and groaned in frustration. Yep, definitely the worst way to end the second day…


End file.
